They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder...and for me and peaches it is so true. I write this somewhat wistfully as I contemplate the end of peach season.

There is a communion of sorts that takes place when musicians gather together, combining their individual sounds. Notes, emanating from a variety of instruments each producing unique sounds that meld together, creating ditties, harmonies and masterpieces.

I would argue that I have one of the best jobs in the world. I am fortunate, in that I have the ability to write publicly about things—usually food-related—that inspire me.

The words local, seasonal, regional and sustainable have been bandied about so often in recent years that diners have become inured as to what they actually mean. Generations of Southern chefs were raised with the emblematic words and have always cooked with the best food available.

A new ethnic restaurant concept has come to the Riverchase area, and it’s more than a little different from what we are used to in several ways. For all its quirks, the place is still charming enough to keep me returning. Genghis Grill is the name, and it is a chain franchise out of Texas specializing in Mongolian grill-style dining.

Starbucks locations are as ubiquitous as Alabama mosquitoes these days. In our increasingly homogenous culinary retail landscape, anomalies must be exceptional to succeed. After all, Starbucks is doing something that a whole lot of people like: producing consistent, if predictable, coffee-based products in familiar and hospitable settings.

When you get to a certain level of obsession with food, it becomes easy to feel complacent in your breadth of knowledge.

I have a confession to make: I cheated on my husband. And my children. I snuck off with Gabrielle Hamilton all last weekend, not caring who found out.

There are certain advantages to getting older. I’ve gotten a little mellower: “Sure! You can juggle knives. Just don’t use my good ones.”

There’s an old joke that says Mexican restaurants all have the same eight ingredients and you just specify in which geometric shape you want them arranged.